Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1887-07-08
1ai11 eagle
IN THE BATH ROOM.
A CLEAN OLD CUSTOM HANDED
DOWN FROM ANTIQUITY.
The Various Styles of Baths, Their His
tory and Characteristics-The Primi-
The Mud Bath.

tive Bath-Turkish and Russian Baths
The Mud Bath.
The bath is as old as the hills 1t comes
down from the most remote antiquity.
The Egyptians used to battle n the Nile.
The Hebrews made bathing compulsory
by law, and the Mohammedans and Hin
docs enforce it as a duty Of religion.
Public baths were among the public insti-
tutions Of the ancient Egyptians, Greeks
and Romans. If Pharaohs lovely
daughtar hadn't gone bathing in the Nile
Moses niTkt never have been discovered
in the b;,!i-ushes. II Nausicaa and her
fair companions had not bathed them
selves in the waters Of the sea the ship
wrecked Ulysses might never have been
rescued. 50 it viii be seen that the bath
is hoary, veaerable and patriarchal
But tie primitive bath was a simple
process compared with the elaborate bath
of modern times It was merely a
plunge into the li1npid water Of some
flowing stream. Now the bath is scien-
tific process, presided over by competent
attendants and regulated by the watch
and the thermometer. The bath most
popular with the American people, bar
ring, Of course, the domestic tub, is the
Turkish hath. Why it is called Turk
ish'' surpesseth all understanding. It is
probably. though, because the Turks re-
cline il Iaost luxuriant bath in perfumed
water, while about the edges Of the mar
BILE basin grow fragrant flowers and bloom
ing rose trees, filling the apartment with
their rcvishing scent. The Turkish bath
was first introduced into England about
the middle OF the sos by noble-nan,
David Urquhart by name, who had re-
ceived the impression in the Orient. This
country adopted the Turkish bath about
twenty years ago.
TAXING \ TURKISH BATH.
Have You ever taken Turkish bath?
No? Then, in the language Of Edwin
Forrest, you ''have never risen to the dig
nifty Of being personally clean"
When you 90 to Turkish bath house
you first enter the Office, where you regis
ter, DEPOSIT YOUR valuables and receive Q
check for them. Then you pass into the
muctaly ''Muctaly'' must be the Turk
for cool room. At any rate muctaly is the
cool room. In one Of the numerous COM
partments Of this apartment you disrobe
and invest yourself in bathing garment,
then you pass into the warm room, the
tepidanum, they call it, where you en-
counter temperature Of 12O TO 140 dogs.
Fahrenheit. Here you recline on a couch
until the perspiration is freely started.
When the skin has become sufficiently
soft and moist-the attendant frequently
passes his hand over the body to ascertain
If it has arrived at the proper state-you
are ushered into the hot room, which is
plain English for the calidanum, as the
apartment is called, where the temperature
is 40 degs. higher than in the warm room.
In the hot room the attendants lay you
l. Il.
perspiration becomes more and more pro-
fuse, while the attendant thoroughly
manipulates the body with q towel From
this rool -ou pass into q still hotter hot
room, where the temperature is 220 to 240
degrees. You perspire few more times
in this room, when you are conducted into
the shampOoing room, where enough tepid
water is sprinkled over you to remove the
perspiration. Then you are stretched out
upon another marble slab and receive
another manipulation. The wind up con-
sists in the al sendant thoroughly washing
the body with lather of soap and water,
sprinkling the bather over with a tepid
spray, and the bather taking a plunge in
the swimming bath.
THE RUSSIAN BATH.
The Russian bath is so called because
the Russians from long ago have INDUCED
in hot vapor bath. The Russian bath
differs from the Turkish bath in this
essential particular: In Russian bath
the room is filled with hot vapor; in the
Turkish bath the room is filed with hot
air.
The Russian bath is attaining popu-
larity with the busy, busting American
people for the reason that it doesn't take
long. A Russian bath can be taken in q
quarter the time that it requires for q
Turkish bath. A comparatively new idea
in baths is the electric bath. This is a
medicated bath prescribed for neuralgia,
rheumatism and all forms Of nervous dis
orders The bathers enter q bath tub,
around the inside of which are number
Of electric buttons. During the bath
current OF electricity is turned into the
water through these conductors from a
battery, manipulated by an attendant.
The sensation. instead of being unplea-
SAINT, CT producing q shock such as con-
tact with = battery produces, is said TO be
one of intense delight.
The mud bath is INDUCED in almost en-
tirely as . remedy for blood disorders.
The bather is placed in a bath tub and
covered up to the chin with a thick coat
ing Of heated mud. As one coating cools
off fresh warm coating is applied. This
heated mud is supposed to act g. a poul
tee and draw out the impurities Of the
system. There is one popularity about
the Turkish bath that is not generally
known. and that is its influence to pre-
serve the equilibrium of the bather's
weight II the bather is above his normal
weight, that is. above n weight suitable to
his build and temperament, the Turkish
bath viii reduce him. If he is below his
normal weight it viii increase it.-Cin-
cilnati Enquirer.
sooner or later the world VIII pe COM
PEELED to admit that there are two sides TO
even the question of woman's dress re-
form The Art Age records the fact that
at late dress reform meeting in London,
at which Mrs Oscar Wilde presided, vari-
GUS forms of Oriental dress with western
embellishments were gravely recon-
mended for the fashionable European and
American women.
Perhaps it were not wholly unwise for
the reformcrs who would abandon al
artificial supports and restraints for the
female figure 10 keep in mind for occa-
sional reference the fact that even the
much vaunted Greek beauties when they
became ponderouS wore primitive corset
OF flexible wood and withes- The nymphS
and goddesses to whom women are ad-
vised to look and learn what the natural
figure is, are all-save, perhaps, our i'm
mortal Lady of Milo-under % years or
age. After that age, if divine youth had
ever extsnded beyond, even Greek god
dess must have enlarged her contours.
Certainly Attic mothers did, for embon- |